Understanding Negative Tax‑Deductible Amounts for Pledge Incentives

When you see a negative number (for example, -1) in the tax_deductible_amount field for a pledge installment, it's because the calculation subtracts the incentive’s fair market value (FMV) from the installment amount. If the installment is smaller than the FMV, the result is negative.

Why a pledge installment can show a negative value

The tax‑deductible amount for an installment is calculated by subtracting the incentive's FMV from the installment value. When the installment is less than the FMV, the calculation produces a negative number.

• Example: An installment of $11 minus an incentive FMV of $12 results in a tax‑deductible amount of −$1.

This negative value is expected behavior when the incentive's FMV is higher than the installment amount.

How incentives apply to pledges versus installments

• The incentive is determined based on the full pledge amount rather than individual installments.
• Each installment’s tax‑deductible line item subtracts the incentive’s FMV, which can result in a negative value if the installment is small.

Where you'll see this and what it means

You may notice negative tax_deductible_amount values in exports or integrations that include pledge installments. A negative value simply means that, for that installment, the FMV of the incentive exceeded the installment amount—it does not indicate an error.